monthly investigation: krautrock

Krautrock was birthed in 1960s Germany for myriad reasons. With American acid-rock, motown and the burgeoning hard rock movement vying against the British Invasion for the world's ear, Germany was left with a handful of obscure, avant-garde composers in its stead. Highly motivated by the emergence of a youthful, righteous and socially conscious intellectual demographic, the divided country became a breeding ground for those concerned with war, environmental issues, and the implications produced by the Space Race. Fed up with the status quo, musicians began experimenting with classical compositions and futuristic technologies as they sought to create a sound entirely unique and independent of current trends. 

Ironically enough, the term Krautrock was penned by the British press when reporting on the first major Germany music festival that took place at Essen in 1968 (kraut itself being slang for German). Musically, the genre made use of motorik, or 4/4, rhythm and classic rock instruments, although the sounds were more electronically modulated than anything else happening at that time. Infusing elements of Jazz, Classical and Minimalist music, song structures varied greatly between strict structures and loose improvisation. Another distinguishing feature that set them apart from their European and American brethren, Krautrock artists spoke solely through their music, usually opting either not to sing at all or, as Nico of Velvet Underground fame popularized, employ a style more reminiscent of a poetry reading than a Beatles track. 

Some of Krautrock's pioneering bands include Tangerine Dream, Amon Duul II, Can, Nico, Klaus Schulze, Kluster, Kraftwerk, NEU! and Faust. Interestingly, most don't sound much like any others, instead appearing to be bonded by a common ancestry and desire to restore a patriotism of sorts within a broken nation. The difference between each band's sound speaks volumes for Krautrock's ingenuity, demonstrating the different directions each was motivated to take their individual style. 

Like most things radical, Krautrock was relatively unsuccessful, at least commercially, during its peak. However, it is often regarded as a major influence on the Post-Punk and has seen a resurgence within the past few years from artists as varied as Wilco, LCD Soundsystem and Stereolab. With the exception of Kraftwerk, most bands are now inactive and have been for awhile. Even activity around the Kraftwerk camp is relatively infrequent and sporadic. For instance, they played only four shows on U.S. soil this past year. However, that Krautrock has a limited history contributes to its greatness; there was no time for bands to destroy the beauty they'd created with trying to sell records for mass profit.